HERITAGE FAIR PROJECT: AN INVESTIGATION OF WHERE WE CAME FROMQUESTIONS FOR INQUIRY
Why did people immigrate to Canada in the past and how is that the same or different from why people immigrate today?
What effect did immigration in Canada have on the First Nation’s people?

How does my cultural back ground influence my beliefs and values and current family life?


How have your family and their traditions changed over time compared to what it was like when your family first came to Canada?

How is my cultural background different than that of my classmates?


How does being exposed the art, food, music, dance and literature of other cultures help me understand them?



This project will consist of three parts

Part One: Learning Stuff

This part will include all of your classroom activities leading up to your own personal project.

Part Two: Investigating Your Family

Investigating Your Family Choose a family member and take on the role of that person. The person that you choose should be someone that was directly involved in your family’s immigration to Canada (or someone that can talk about family tradition if your family has always been here). Tell your family story from that person’s perspective. For example, if your great-great grandparents came to Canada from Greece in 1942, tell your family heritage story from the point of view of your Great-Grandmother. Find out what country your family came from if they immigrated to Canada. (Many of you will have more than one origin, choose one to focus on) If your family did not immigrate to Canada, you will investigate your Canadian heritage Start your investigation by talking to your parents, grandparent or other family members. Find out why you left your original country. If there was a major event that caused you to leave (ex. War or famine), investigate that and include the history in your Heritage Fair presentation. If you did not leave a country, find out what your life was like before people started coming. Find out where you first lived when you came to Canada and how you ended up in Regina. What was Regina like when you got here? Where did you live? Did you live in a neighborhood with people that were the same culture as you? What was it like to live there? Investigate the cultural traditions of you chosen heritage. Include food, music, dress, holidays and celebrations, special traditions, art, etc. Share any interesting stories about your family. (ex. You were kicked out of Scotland for stealing sheep).

Part Three: Heritage Fair

You will share “your” story with the class and other classes by presenting all of your family history at a Heritage Fair that will take place in the gym. You will create a display that tells your family heritage story. In your display be sure to include all information from the above check list. You may present the information any way that you choose but here are some suggestions for things you could include: Something from your family’s past that has special significance. Photographs of anything related to your story Music Dress up in traditional clothing or in clothing of the time period that your relative came to Canada. Perform dances or poems. Create traditional artwork or show examples of art traditional to your heritage. Offer a sample of traditional food. Include video footage of anything related to why you immigrated to Canada (new footage of a disaster or war) Show a comparison of life here vs. life there Video footage of you interviewing the person that you are pretending to be if they are still alive. During the actual presentation of the Heritage Fair, you will be asked to participate in a Scavenger Hunt that will help you answer the final questions for Inquiry.

Questions to Ask Your Family:
During your investigation of your family, you can use the following questions as a guide. This does not mean that this is all that you can discover, they may lead to you learning even more!

1. What country did your ancestor or relative come from?
2. Why did they leave their country?
3. What languages did they speak?
4. Where did they live when they came to Canada? How did your family end up in Saskatchewan?
5. What was Regina and Saskatchewan like when your relative first arrived?
6. What religious or cultural traditions or celebrations did they take part in?
7. What was the hardest part about moving to a new country?
8. What kinds of interesting stories can you find out about living here in Saskatchewan?

Don't forget to refer to the instructions above for more information about this project!

The Heritage Fair will take place February 28th in the gym!